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Matilda Willem
Matilda "Tilly" Willem is a character. She is Aunt Phil's late, difficult twin sister. Life Early life Matilda Edinawati Willem (née Mangkoedimedjo) was born on 11 April, 1946, in Paterosari, Indonesia, as the twin sister of Philomena Develsbourne, from a Dutch-Indonesian couple, Prabowo Mangkoedimedjo and Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo (known as Laila Mulyati at the time). She was the more 'adventurous' of the two sisters, and displayed a more extroverted behaviour growing up compared to her sister Phil. That being said, she didn't have a lot of friends growing up (even though she was relatively good friends with Erna Lubis, Mimi, Hilda Oenger, and Maya Hapsari, whom were part of one gang along with her sister Phil). Both she and Phil were sent to the Saradonna Academy boarding school in 1958. When they inadvertently (and unknowingly) caused the closure of the school, they continued their education in a public school. Despite their introverted tendencies, both Philly and Tilly remained popular because they were bule, even though neither her nor her sister asked for it nor actively exploited it. She started dating Hugo Willem in 1961. The two sisters planned on becoming teachers and traveling the world, becoming inspired by the stories of their Boer great-great-grandfather, Thomas Schuyler and their great-uncle Lionel Schuyler, who were both travellers. Both of them were very smart, and excelled in their Socials program at high school, earning a love for the field of Sociology. This led them to the plan on studying Sociology at the University of Indonesia and becoming social scientists. Both also enjoyed the arts very well and wanted to perform together as a singing duet, something they did for a few years in their hometown, when they were known as the Angsa Kembar. While Philly was particularly talented at stage performances, Tilly was talented at painting. She received tutelage in painting from In 1965, she married her high school sweetheart Hugo, and dropped off any plans on going to college. She had her first daughter, Anneke Willem, a few months later, with Lusi Willem following in 1967, Jan Willem in 1976, and Dominique Willem in 1978. Adulthood Phil married Phillip Develsbourne a few years before Jan was born, and traveled the world together because of Philip's occupation as an archeologist and scholar. Tilly was extremely envious of her sister but kept it to herself, knowing it would cause a rift between them, and instead told Phil that marriage is the kind of adventure that I wanted after all'. She spent her time throwing arisans and social functions with her socialite friends, and became a beacon of domesticity with her famous cooking (becoming one of the only women in the family who could cook), but her attention declined towards such activities as she grew older, putting more time on sketching and sometimes watercolour painting. She eventually went to college in 1970, majoring in History Education at Sanata Dharma University, and began teaching History at Taman Merak High School. In 1980, Hugo and Tilda bought a new house not so far from the Van Haji House because the family was getting bigger and she needed space to store her paintings. Anne and Lusi remained with their grandparents, however, with Jan (who was around 4 at the time), spending his weekends at his grandparents'. This separation of households resulted in a distance between the three siblings and Dominique, whom Tilly favoured over the other children. Later life Tilly and Herman separated in 1997, with Hugo disappearing and never formally divorcing Tilly, much to her chagrin. With Anne living with her own family in Bandung, Lusi at the Van Haji house, and both Jan and Dominique off at college in Bandung, Tilly sold her house and moved back to the Van Haji house upon her father's death. She became close to her granddaughter Miranda Sucipto (one of the only people in her life that she trusted and loved to the day she died), but remained distant with most of her family. She was diagnosed with emphysema and lung cancer in 2002, and her family got involved with her healthcare. She was a difficult and ill harridan, making life hard for her family. She made a small fortune by investments, and squandered it on indulgent things, leaving her healthcare bills to be paid by her family. In 2008, she wanted to settle her will (though it was Dominique that insisted), which resulted in a falling out between the four siblings. She died in 2011 after a lifelong addiction for nicotine, with most of the money going to Dominique and a few trinkets left behind for each family member, as well as her paintings. Personality Fiercely independent with her own set of ideals and a bitter temper, she made life quite hard for everyone she lived with. She almost always appears warm and cordial, and is always relatively confident. In truth, she is vulnerable, fragile, and speaks ill of almost everyone she knows. She is naturally harsh and distrusting, and people would have to earn her trust. She values loyalty very much. In her youth, her paintings showed her rebellious nature. Disliking the realist and naturalist styles of painting enforced in schools (and the shortage of painting materials during that time, which led her to use wall paint or made her own paint from crushed bricks and chalk), she painted expressively, her early works reminiscent of the works by Cy Twombly, whom she is a fan of. When she married and began to be distracted with her kids and social functions, she mostly sketched her family members and the things around her--not to express her emotions, but to document her life. Her sketches had strong lines, resembling the works of Hendra Gunawan. Later in life, she painted with watercolour more. She also likes the works of Jackson Pollock and Wassily Kandinsky. Hugo began a string of affairs sometime in the mid-1970s, which Matilda knew about but kept silent about it, for she had no interest in tearing apart her family and leeched on him emotionally. She made a small fortune for herself by investments, indulging herself in whatever pleased her and to separate her finances with her husband's. Though she cared for her children, she can be cold and emotionally distant with them, always favouring Dominique over the others. As much as she despised her husband, he was her first and only love. When Hugo was away, she tried to pursue affairs but failed to make anything of them, growing colder and resenting human interaction, even limiting the relatives and friends that wanted to see her. She was a lifelong smoker, having smoked since her high school days, and indulged in them the most. She would also squander her money on clothes, jewellery, and food, but would wisely save a portion of them to be invested, which resulted in her dying a wealthy woman by her own efforts. Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Deceased Characters